Countdown to the ‘Green Experience’ with Alastair McGowan

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English impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer Alastair McGowan will host this year’s International Green Awards at the iconic Battersea Power Station on Tuesday 20th November.

McGowan who is as an ambassador to WWF-UK, part of the global World Wide Fund for Nature , campaigns on a number of environmental issues and thus, the ideal candidate to headline this ‘green’ themed gala evening and sustainability showcase.

The continuing success of the International Green Awards™, the leading platform for sustainability intelligence, leadership and innovation underlines how important sustainability and responsible business has become globally.

These green ‘oscars’ play a crucial role in promoting the principles of environmental responsibility to a wider commercial audience. Awards have always been well placed to act as beacons of innovation and leadership as experts recognise organisations who are paving the way for a more sustainable future.

Battersea Power Station provides an ideal backdrop to this exciting evening as a celebration of this year’s UN Year of Sustainable Energy for All. The power station is the largest brick building in Europe, built in the 1930’s as a coal fired power station and now stands derelict as a reminder of our old world order. As it embarks on its redevelopment in the coming years, its metamorphosis will naturally embrace sustainability at its new core. Battersea Power Station symbolises the global shift to more sustainable practices as humanity adapts it’s energy intensive past in order to address the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead as a result of climate change and resource scarcity.

Apart from McGowan, one of this year’s inspirational after dinner speakers will be ocean advocate and pioneer swimmer Lewis Pugh. He is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean of the world. In 2007 he became the first to undertake a swim across the icy waters of the North Pole. In 2010 he swam across a glacial lake on Mt Everest to draw attention to the melting glaciers in the Himalayas. To date, he has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer in history. His mission is to raise awareness about the vulnerability of our oceans and their importance to humanity.

Finally, the hugely anticipated winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be revealed on the evening. This award will honour a globally significant recipient individual who has made an extensive and laudable contribution to sustainability and the natural world throughout his/her career. Past winners have included Sir David Attenborough CBE and former Nobel Peace Prize Winner Professor Wangari Maathai. In addition, the audience voted winner of the Most Responsible Celebrity Award will be announced in recognition of his/her efforts to promote and support environmental and humanitarian causes through the media.

Open for everyone to attend, this year’s awards will provide the ideal opportunity to network with green glitterati, thought leaders, change agents and pioneers from around the world whilst enjoying a suitably sustainable meal. Previous celebrity attendees have included acclaimed environmentalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough CBE, through to supermodel Lily Cole and green guru Jo Wood.

Cate Blanchett, Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company which is one of this year’s shortlisted organizations commented “It is a great honour for Sydney Theatre Company to have been shortlisted for this international award, alongside other Australian organisations. We hope we can offer a vision of how we might all creatively embrace the challenges that Climate Change presents.”